I recently read a blog post from Seth Godin called. Tribal organizing (right and wrong, slow and fast)He talked about the decisions we make and what motivates us. Are we living in the world of instant gratification and basing our decisions from that point of view? He suggest that maybe we slow down and look more long term. If we did that how would that impact or decision process? He pulls in the idea of building relationships and how that approach has s much more stable outcome. "Connection—We are here for the members of the tribe and the change they seek to make. Are people in this for the long haul, the destination as well as the journey? What do we stand for? Are relationships being built, or is this merely an ATM?"

IF you are not thinking long term and understanding that you need to be in it for the long haul then don't be surprised when your short term decisions only give you short term results. Just a thought!

This last Friday I embarked on a challenge that I wasn't sure I was ready for. It was a challange rather than a race called the Tough Mudder. 11 mile run thought18 crazy obstacles. I was running with 5 other team mates that I didn't know very well with the exception of Jack Gettles.

What I realized with this challenge is in order to finish you have to count on your teammates for support, assistance, and encouragement. This challenge really test your physical ability, mental ability and your ability to overcome fear. There were numerous obstacles where you could not make it alone. The Berlin wall, Mount Everest to name a few. This is where team work and drive was needed to continue the challenge. There were times in the race where it would have been easy to just stop, but my teammates were there to encourage me and keep me moving forward.

My point to sharing this story with all of you is this: When you work together and have a common goal and vision it is pretty amazing what obstacles you can overcome that lie in front of you. When you hit the finish line together it is a pretty amazing feeling. It has been a few days now and I'm walking normal again and still finding mud in places I din't think was possible.

As an instructor for our Windermere Ninja Installation I’ve come to learn that everyone can have success. It does not matter your upbringing, your education, your income or lack thereof. I have heard amazing stories from all walks of life. Hardships, life struggles, yet these individuals find a way to dig deep and become what they always knew they could be.

There are 3 main ingredients that I see in these types of individuals.

1.Self Esteem. They have an internal voice that says ‘I am” it says ” I can” and ‘I will” That voice inside does not doubt itself. That voice is loud with positive reinforcement and does not let negativity disrupt it’s forward momentum. This doesn’t mean there isn’t negativity, all of us have bad days and bad months and sometimes bad years, but they have learned to deal with negativity with positive self-talk and continue moving forward and spiraling up and not down.

2. They lack blame and are humble. They don’t point fingers. If they have a problem they first look inside to see what they have done to create this problem. In life it is easier to blame others for our misfortunes and much harder to point a finger back at ourselves. They seek to do more for others then they do for themselves. They have fully embraced the law of value. “You can’t get what you want until you have given others what they want”They always try to see the good in people. In the world we live in today it is so easy to seek out the bad and mistrust in people. When you lack blame you tend to see more good and less bad. Yet today we are surrounded with negativity. The News sources, TV, and Politics, all seem to want to uncover the bad in individuals when in reality on any given day there is so much more good happening in our world, yet the positive news doesn’t get us eyeballs or ratings so let’s ignore it. They have a great filter to take in good and filter out bad.

3.They create attraction.We are attracted to these individuals because of the positive energy they have. They are not self-serving and always look to prop up others. They have success yet rarely take the credit for it. They do not objectify other individuals. They see themselves on the same level. They teach and share their knowledge and are not protective of it. They spend more time listening and less time talking. When they do talk you very rarely hear the word “I”. They understand that getting things accomplished happens more often when we understand compromise and how to work together. They know that working in a vacuum will get them nowhere. They are great at solving your problems, because they care. They know how to be a player and avoid the victim mind set.

Every day we all have the ability to make a choice. Do I go out today and seek out someone I can help, or do I help myself? Do I walk knowing that I have all the answers and I’m not willing to share, or do I look to others for help and knowledge, and when I find it I want to pass it on? Do I tell myself I can or I can’t? In my mind’s eye am I better than everyone else or are we the same?

Everyone can be what they want to be, but in order for this to happen you have to look inside first and see how you are showing up every day. It has a profound effect on others, negative or positive.

I don't know about you but I'm not one to want to hang out with the type of individual who blames everything that happens to them on everyone else. Sure we all know someone like this don't we? They tend to see the negative in most everything, they always have something going wrong in their life and none of it ever seems to be the fault of their own! They tend to focus on the negative news of the day then they will manifest that news and weave it into their own failure in some way. This pattern is a spiral down mentality and a mindset from scarcity. They have little trust and most of the time they think that everyone is out to get them. This is a very difficult way to go through life. It also does not help in attraction. When you live in this space the energy you put off is highly negative and repealing. Most victims usually attract other victims.

The opposite way of thinking is that of a player. This individual takes full responsibility for their situation and is always open minded to others to help he or she to become a better individual. They usually measure their success not by what they get but how much they can give. Their mentality is that of abundance. They try to focus on the positive 90% of the time and normally have trust of most others.

A great example of thinking as a victim or a player as it pertains to Real Estate is our Inventory today which is a big deal. Every where I go I hear this. "We have an inventory problem!" Would you say that is an Victim or a Player statement? Things will get better when we have more inventory. What are we blaming for our lack of business?
I would suggest a different approach! If inventory is the issue then that would tell me, as a player, that we need to go out and create some Sellers! The biggest generation of today is the Boomer generation. The individuals were born between 1946-1963.

This generation in mostly in transition. They are prime for moving to the retirement world or are already there but are still living in homes that they raised their families in. They want to make the move to a warmer climate or get that smaller condo but no one has helped them understand how to make that happen. Well you're a Real Estate trusted adviser that has this knowledge. Instead of complaining about low inventory get creative and go seek out sellers and help them make the move!

When you create a seller you generate inventory and bingo problem solved!

The image at the top of my post is that of Tom Solcum in the 1991 Boston Marathon at the 20 mile mark. He started 24 hours before the other runners. Tom has a player mentality. Next time you are blaming someone else for where you are in life think about Tom and what he faces on a daily basis.

On my visit to Ft. Collins Colorado to get re-energized by Larry, Don, and Shoes. I was very lucky to have an opportunity to meet Jimmy D. Jimmy was the original ninja, Larry based many of the processes in the Installation off of the success that Jimmy had with his business.

Jimmy is an individual who has for sure been at the plate and was pitched a curve ball. What is so inspirational is how he looks at his life. He suffers from a illness that the doctors are still working to diagnose. At one point he was told he had two years left to live. He shared this with the group and said that when this type of news is given to you, your look on life changes a bit. He gave us a quote. "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift of you"

Jimmy once an amazing cyclist, riding with people like Lance Armstrong, Tyler Hamilton, and Greg Lemond not to mention many others. Now today he is usually in a wheelchair although he still has use of his legs but his balance is a bit off. He chooses to get up daily and make a difference in other peoples life's by giving back. When we talk about a victim mentality or a player mentality, Jimmy is the epitome of a Player. He gives back all of himself without asking for anything in return. I think we all can learn something from this type of individual.

Thank you Jimmy for your hospitality and the time you gave to us a few weeks ago in Ft. Collins.

"Are there things that are incomplete in your life? any unpaid bills? Have you done your taxes? Did you borrow a book or tool you have yet to return? Is there someone who needs to hear you say, "I love you," or, "I'm sorry," or, "Thank you- I appreciate you"? Do you have any unfinished projects? Any unkept promises- taking a weekend away with your spouse, or taking your kids somewhere special? Are there any agreements or commitments you left hanging?

Each and every incomplete thing in your life or work exerts a draining force on you, sucking the energy of accomplishment and success out of you and leaving you in less then a positive mental state.

Here is the unfortunate and powerfully destructive truth of being incomplete: it keeps the past alive. Remember, people who live on the success curve are pulled by the future, while those who dwell on the failure curve are pulled by the past. And a surefire way to be forced to live as a prisoner of your past is to not complete things."

The book the slight edge is a powerful and thought provoking book that I guarantee will help you to look at your life differently. It has helped me to better understand how every decision I make in life has a negative or positive impact on my future.

I'd like you to meet Joie Gowan. Joie as been in the real estate business for over 25 years. I walk past her office daily on the way to my office. Today I walked by and noticed over 100 of these on her floor.

I asked Joie what they were? She told me they are shopping bags wrapped up nicely with a hand written note and a small gift. She explained that they are hand delivered.

You might be saying, "really a shopping bag.?" It's not any old shopping bag, it is a very well maid great designed shopping bag.
I happen to know some of Joie's customers and they tell me that every time they grab this bag out of their car they think about Joie. BINGO!

She does this every year for her customers. I want you to know that Joie understands value and relevance. She also knows that faceless relationships don't last. Maybe this year some of you might take a page out of Joie's book and ask how you are doing something special to be face to face with your customers?

If the slightest change can make such a huge impact then why do so many people not do it? It amazes me today that you can map out a solution for success for someone and they will still find a way to fail. This image below form the book the Slight Edge explains how only 5% of people today are willing to put the effort in for the long haul.

Many times the small change may not be comfortable at first but if that change is embraced and done over and over again the impact can be dramatic. Easy example. Recently I came across a program called my fitness pal. It is a very simple app that tracks your daily calorie intake. According to this app my slight change suggestion was to reduce my calorie intake by 500 c. a day. Slight change right? What is amazing is how 500 calories over the course of a month add up to 15,500 calories . How about over a year, how about over 5 years?

Many times we set a hurdle in our mind about how the change is too difficult. We don’t visualize that change every day and then we never are able to see the long term impact. This is why 95% don’t succeed. Not sure but I’m willing to put the effort in everything I do to be in the 5%.

If the slightest change can make such a huge impact then why do so many people not do it? It amazes me today that you can map out a solution for success for someone and they will still find a way to fail. This image below form the book the Slight Edge explains how only 5% of people today are willing to put the effort in for the long haul.

Many times the small change may not be comfortable at first but if that change is embraced and done over and over again the impact can be dramatic. Easy example. Recently I came across a program called my fitness pal. It is a very simple app that tracks your daily calorie intake. According to this app my slight change suggestion was to reduce my calorie intake by 500 c. a day. Slight change right? What is amazing is how 500 calories over the course of a month add up to 15,500 calories . How about over a year, how about over 5 years?

Many times we set a hurdle in our mind about how the change is too difficult. We don't visualize that change every day and then we never are able to see the long term impact. This is why 95% don't succeed. Not sure but I'm willing to put the effort in everything I do to be in the 5%.

I am re-reading a book called the Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. Great book. In his book he maps out the 7 Slight Edge principals. I'm just talking about the first two. The first two seem so evident and simple but I'm amazed at how many people apparently don't get this. BTW I'm not immune to not getting this either. after re-reading this book I know I have some work to do.

1. Show up. 80% of winning in many cases is just showing up. I can't tell you how many excuses I hear for not being able to show up. We have become a society that doesn't take this to heart. Let me add a caveat to showing up, "on time"

One of the things that drives me crazy is being late. I tell my kids that being late is not acceptable. In fact being on time is getting there 5 min early. When you are late it is a reflection that you are thinking about yourself and no one else. You demonstrate a lack of respect for the person who is waiting for you. Not showing up or showing up late on a consistent basis is change in the wrong direction. If you can just show up daily on time you have won half the battle.

2. Be Consistent. Consistency is the key to all success. Golfers know this too well. To be a great golfer you have to consistently hit the ball straight and consistently sink putts. You don't just wake up one morning and it happens. You have to practice, and practice, and practice to achieve consistency. If you really look closely at people who are amazingly successful it has nothing to do with rocket science. It has everything to do with consistently showing up and doing something over and over the best way they know how.

Look at couples who have a great relationship. It wasn't magic or fate. It was consistently showing up and being there for each other. I recently talked with a friend of mine who has been happily married for 42 years. Her words of advice. Show up in your marriage everyday. Be consistently engaged in that other person. Sure the relationship ebbs and flows but showing up and consistency on a daily basis is the key.

When someone tells me they did a work our program and it didn't work for them. You know what I'm thinking in the back of my head. Hmmmmmm, did you consistently show up? I guarantee if you ask that question the answer will be, "Well no, I went for a bit but then i got real busy and so, No!"

You owe it to yourself. If there is anything you deem worthy of doing then give it your all. Show up everyday on time and be consistent. We are all human and will stumble from time to time but its the people who stumble and don't get back on track that find that the Slight Edge will work against them and not for them over their entire life.